Chapter 35 (2/2)

“Well, it’s a small town with fewer than two thousand people. The town was built by immigrants after new tulips were discovered there. Now, the town lives on wheat. The land is barren, and taxes are few. But luckily, a new tulip magic medicine has been discovered. It will boost development again.”

“That’s a good thing.” The marquis asked further, “Tulip Castle paid a fairly huge sum of coins for the magic medicine?”

“I asked for a dividend. Not too many tulips can be grown in the town. I’ve reached an accord with my siblings to grow the tulips with them on the condition that they give me thirty percent of the profits.”

“Well, an interesting deal. It’s more valuable than some coins. Liszt, you’ve inherited both the beauty and the intelligence of the Taro family.”

The Taro family was famous for their shrewdness in the archduchy.

The marquis’s father, the previous marquis, was only an earl back then. Because the archduke needed money to arm the knights, the earl dedicated all his fortunes to Archduchy Sapphire in exchange for Red Crab Island and the title of marquis.

Now, the annual revenue of Red Crab Island was much more abundant than the money the earl gave away.

It was definitely a fair deal.

“Flower Town is only a small town. I need to make money to keep the castle running.”

“A qualified noble is a self-made noble.”

Courage, manners, loyalty, work ethic… Nobles talked about a lot of things, but they were essentially vampires that exploited ordinary people. Few of them even knew what hoes looked like.

…

After lunch, it was dinner.

The next day, Mayop was rather busy. According to the marquis’s instructions, he intended to throw a splendid ball that night and invite all the young nobles nearby.

A ball of nobles, to put it simply, was a meeting of blind dates.

The younger sons of the nobles were most interested in the ball. The eldest son could inherit his father’s title and easily find a suitable wife. The younger sons had to work harder to marry a wealthy lady in order to continue their noble life.

Otherwise, after generations, they would end up as common knights.

Female nobles were also passionate about the balls. Not every lady could be married to the eldest sons of nobles. They need also charm the noble descendants who had potential.

“Liszt, you must get ready!” Mayop came with his valet, who carried a bunch of formal attires. “Those are clothes that I’ve never worn. They must suit you well since we are of similar sizes.”

“Cousin, there’s no need to try every one of them. I think the one on me is quite good.”

“No, it has to be perfect. The nobles of thirteen towns have been invited to the ball. How many beautiful ladies will there be? They’re waiting for a romantic encounter with you.”

“I’m too young to be married.” Liszt was lost for words. He never realized that his cousin was such a passionate matchmaker. “You should dress my sister, who is at an appropriate age for marriage. My brother also needs a suitable mistress for Tulip Castle.”

“They don’t need my reminder. Levis borrowed a lot of my clothes, and Lvera have been getting ready since morning. You didn’t realize it?”

“Is that so?”

Liszt really didn’t. He was too busy reading the books of Taro Castle and enjoying the food at dinner.